A meat-head lifter is an individual who goes to the gym and becomes addicted to ‘getting big’. Their ego goes through the roof, and their whole life becomes a muscle building affair. Sacrificing all other aspects of life. No balance! (Which is of course the goal for all of us).

However, what you should be doing, is treating the gym as a sort of add-on feature to your lifestyle, in order to turn you into the complete package. And today, I’m going to list 5 things that go hand in hand along side building a great body. 5 things that you should focus on in order to create some balance, so that you don’t become a weightlifting meat-head.

#1 Grooming

Now, I’m only going to talk about male grooming here, because that’s what I know best… well kinda ;). But seriously, being a well groomed male with a great physique to match really does wonders for you as a whole package. You’ll have a fuller facial structure from your good diet and exercise. Your skin will be more radiant and fresh, from all of that sweating from your workout (Also less spots… usually). And of course, it will add to your million dollar awesomeness presentation.

Here’s a video for you for those who are not in the know:

#2 Great looking skin

It was only natural that I followed up point no.1 with how to develop great looking skin. This too is a strong bonus on the quest to building that whole package. Because if your skin looks dead, then your muscles will too. Seriously. Having good skin will make you ‘glow’. Literally. And those deep cut muscles will look even sexier than ever.

Remember when I spoke about the importance of building lean and strong muscle over super bulky muscle? If not, read this post. Besides, your focus should be on getting strong and fit. That’s what’s really important. I’ll speak more on that matter later. Moving on…

Great body builder skin…

Now I’m not going to repeat myself entirely here. Because I’ve spoken on this before, and in some detail. So if you want to know what I use to maintain great skin (Face and body) then read this post. I’m 100% certain it won’t fail you, unless you are already using some great skin product.

#3 Nails

Now, this is a pretty big one. Just because you are lifting weights, developing some ‘minor’ calluses and plastering your hands with chalk as your strength gains increase, doesn’t mean you can neglect your hands. In fact, it should be the complete opposite now that you have started to lift some weight. Look after your hands and nails.

#1 Bad or dirty nails are unattractive

#2 Long nails are actually quite dangerous to have as a serious lifter

# 3 Crappy nails paint a bad picture for those you meet on first appearance

#4 Badly maintained nails are actually unhealthy (Did you know that the germs under your nails are worse than those on a toilet seat? Yuck, your hands are like a pair of mobile sh*t stains, ready to cause havoc on anything you touch).

With that being said, can you see how important it is to maintain this area of your body. No point looking good if your greeting mechanisms aren’t up to scratch. That’s like dating a beautiful lady with busted feet. How’s that for shooting herself in the foot (Pun intended :))

#4 Fragrance

Make sure you wash ‘before’ you go to the gym!

I know the gym is going to be full of stinky people. But that doesn’t mean you can arrive at the gym already stinking. Heck, most people in the gym won’t be stinky if they wash. Because the stink of sweat only happens once it has dried. So please, do us all a favor and be considerate of the noses of others.

Now, if you are going to make the effort to look good, you might as well go the extra mile to smell good. Your smell will be the no.1 thing that people will remember you by. Just because you are a sweaty lifter doesn’t mean you have to live by that cliche.

Pull out the fragrances for each occasion and you will indeed be closer to the full package.

For the bar: Tom Ford – Black Orchid

For the office: Calvin Klein ckone Eau de Toilette

#5 How you dress

And this is the last point, but definitely not the least. You see, once you build a ripped physique, you actually won’t look much different when fully clothed (Unless you was a true mega ectomorph). And the simple reason is this.

10% body fat or more… you’ll look chunky and meaty

10% body fat or less… you’ll look lean, but healthy

That’s just how it is. However, if that lean healthy person strips down, or even classier, ‘dresses’ for their physique. They will look the part every time they walk out of their front door. Lean is the new bulk. Your ripped cuts will give the illusion of someone that is large in size. Defined muscles will do that, and that is what you should aim for (with some size of course.. more on that here). All you have to do is dress for your physique to look like a million dollars every time.

Examples

#6 Your Bodybuilding mentality

Most guys that hit the gym to get big or hit the stage tend to become bodybuilding air heads. Literally. Like muscles full of hot air. Strutting their stuff around the place like their sh*t doesn’t stink.

Well, here’s a few words from me air heads.

Your sh*t stinks more than ever

You’re just full of ego. You need to quit it already. Follow some of the stuff I talk about in the 5 steps above and act like normal people dammit. It’s only muscle. Anyone can build muscle. Don’t you realize that people out there are looking up to you? The mega-ectomorphs… the mega-endomorphs aka the super fats and the super skinnys.

Just know that whatever message you strongly and willing-fully put out in the world will influence people that connect with you. Close friends or strangers!

There’s nothing you can do about that. But what you can do is take some damn responsibility for the way you act. So do yourself a favor and drop the ego already. And for the rest of you good fitbuggers… keep on doing what you are doing. Amazing things will start happening to you soon. You will insanely ROCK!